Top health breakthroughs in 2015

Looking back at 2014, you will see many eye-popping, mind-blowing, heart-stopping health/medical breakthroughs. Well, this year promises to be even more overwhelming in terms of medical innovations (but more on these a wee bit later), according to doctors and researchers at the Cleveland Clinic, a non-profit multispecialty academic medical center that provides clinical and hospital care, and is a leader in research education and health information.

Last year, a team of Australian doctors brought cadavers’ hearts back to life, a hearty piece of news that was happily received by organ transplant patients. The amazing machine supplies the dead heart (that has stopped beating for 20 minutes) with oxygen to revive it and keep it beating for five to eight hours, for transplant to a patient. In another development, Belgian scientists introduced a new machine that could preserve donor lungs for 11 hours.

For those who have no heart disease (consider yourself lucky), a blood test was approved by the US FDA that could determine a person’s odds for having a heart attack and other cardio problems.

Stem cell therapy was the hot controversial topic of the day (as it was the year before last). A stem cell breakthrough used stem cells to convert human skin cells directly into brain cells. More, human lungs were successfully grown in a lab for the first time, using stem cells.

This you’ve got to see: Last year, a new-generation bionic eye was put into a 66-year-old blind man who — lo and behold! — was able to see light after more than three decades of living in total darkness.

But last year’s biggest health story was the Ebola virus which, so far, has claimed thousands of lives. Mere mention of the word Ebola (a highly contagious and fatal hemorrhagic fever) is enough to send us convulsing in fear.

According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, experimental vaccines and treatments to combat the Ebola Virus Disease are now being developed, but these have not been fully tested for safety or effectiveness.

Making gripping hot news last year was the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, inspired by former Boston College baseball player Pete Frates who was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, a progressive degeneration of the motor neurons that leaves the victim totally paralyzed and eventually leads to death). The cool challenge was taken up by a lot of people, including Hollywood celebrities and former President George Bush whose wife Laura herself poured a bucketful of ice on his head. This is not to throw cold water on the campaign, but after the dousing, you’re supposed to shell out a donation to the ALS Association to help with its many projects.

Before we forget, a novel blood test was devised that could predict with 90-percent accuracy whether you (granting you’re healthy) will develop Alzheimer’s (or cognitive decline) within three years.

Last year, too, nutritionists had a change of heart on their fat advice. For decades, they were telling us to choose low-fat food items — low-fat butter, low-fat milk, low-fat everything. Last year, they corrected a big fat lie and told us that “cutting back on all fats in our diet may do more harm than good.” They pinpointed the culprits as the sugary, high-carb, refined processed foods that we eat, not the fats.

And now, there’s a new way to lower cholesterol with the new self-injectable drugs called PCSK9 inhibitors that have been shown to be very effective in lowering cholesterol (versus the statin drugs). Sounds like heartwarming good news for people who have not been helped much by statins. The FDA is expected to approve the first PCSK9 drug this year.

This year, the Cleveland Clinic has come up with its list (as it does every year) of medical innovations that would shape health care in 2015. On top of the list is the mobile stroke unit that could make it possible to treat stroke patients on the go. Via videoconferencing, neurologists can interpret data and instruct the paramedic or nurse on board the mobile unit on how to treat the stroke victim (or at least give first aid, which is crucial, as every second counts for the stroke victim).

Take heart, too, because a new drug is being fast-tracked by FDA because it’s more effective than current drugs in cutting the risk of dying of heart failure.

Also in the top 10 list is the development of a cancer drug that does not harm the healthy cells but instead targets only the cancer cells. A welcome breakthrough, indeed, since chemotherapy can take a toll on the body as it attacks both the cancerous cells and healthy cells.

Probably the best breast cancer news we’re hearing this year is this: Now, there’s a single-dose radiation therapy for breast cancer tumor, thus reducing the amount of time and money (and energy, for cancer treatment can be debilitating) spent on treatments.

Ever heard of a wireless cardiac pacemaker? You’ll hear more of it this year. About the size of a vitamin pill, this wireless pacemaker can be implanted in the heart, with its lithium-ion battery enough to last seven years.

Then there’s a new breakthrough in blood sugar monitors. According to Tech Times (www.techtimes.com), the Dexcom G4 platinum monitor lets users view their blood sugar without a finger stick. This continuous glucose monitor, also approved for children as young as two years old, gives alerts on how fast your blood sugar is rising or falling.

We all dread getting dengue like the plague. What makes it even more scary is that the only way to prevent it is by avoiding mosquito bites. Fear no more, for a dengue vaccine has been developed and tested, and should be out on the market this year.

Does the mere sight of a long and fat hypodermic needle make you shudder? This one’s for you: painless blood testing. This new technology takes blood from your fingertips. And with just one drop of blood, over 100 tests can be performed.

These welcome breakthroughs surely promise better health — and a better quality of life — for people.